POLICY

Protect our Care, #RejectRepeal Day of Action, April 19

Apr 14, 2017 6:34 PM

demand Republicans reject repeal and #ProtectOurCare: Do not take away our care. Stop trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act

Protect our Care is hosting a nationwide day of action, Wednesday, April 19 to Protect Our Care. Below are key resources shared from them and other organizations critical to the healthcare fight.

Key Questions to Ask Members of Congress

Members need to keep hearing from their constituents so they understand that it's time to give up on repealing the healthcare law. Remember: Keep it personal. The best and most impactful questions are ones where someone shares their story about what the Affordable Care Act has meant to them or their family.

Do you agree with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan that you should not work with Democrats to fix the Affordable Care Act and work together to bring costs down?

Will you give up on repealing and replacing the law with anything that results in people losing their health coverage and increasing costs?

Choose your own issue: It's clear that people are against the American HealthCare Act - will you pledge to never vote for legislation that:

Creates an age tax that makes healthcare more expensive for people between the ages of 50-64?

Guts Medicaid by shifting costs to states through a block grant or per-capita cap and rationing the care of seniors, kids and people with disabilities?

Do you agree with the latest repeal efforts that include weakening protections for people with pre-existing conditions by allowing insurance companies to charge them as much as they want?

Do you think the Trump Administration should be working to strengthen the individual market versus trying to sabotage it?

Basic Points

The Republican healthcare repeal bill was really bad for people and now Republicans are talking about making it even worse. Instead of working together to make a better healthcare system, they're giving into the demands of the extreme-fringe.

At a time when Americans are concerned about healthcare being too expensive, the Republican repeal effort would raise premiums by 20 percent, even charging people over 50 as much as five times more than younger people, increase out-of-pocket costs and deductibles, while leaving 24 million more people uninsured.

And now, Republicans are talking about destroying protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, allowing insurance companies to charge them as much as they want.

Medicaid cuts and changes to health insurance rules would have dramatically cut access to mental health and opioid use disorder treatment.

It's time to move on. Republicans were unable to repeal the law because the American people - along with a bipartisan majority in congress - want to keep the law's protections and key components.

Republican Senators, Governors and even Republican Members of Congress joined a bipartisan majority to oppose repealing healthcare because of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act that they wanted to keep: access to affordable care, Medicaid expansion, essential health benefits, protections for pre-existing conditions and much, much more. They all admitted that repeal of healthcare would increase costs, cut coverage and stop insurance companies from covering basic services.

The Affordable Care Act is more popular than ever. Polls show voters don't want it repealed. They want Democrats and Republicans to work together to bring down costs - for coverage and prescription drugs - to protect patients and to make sure even more people have access to affordable coverage.

The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows the ACA has the highest favorability since it began polling—more than 60 tracking polls ago and Pew Research had support at an all-time high.

The newly released Quinnipiac poll had only 1-in-5 supporting full repeal.

The Administration has complete power to make the exchanges successful. Now that efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act are over, the Trump Administration and Congress have a responsibility to make the law work and to do everything in their power to keep the Health Insurance Marketplaces healthy and stable. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. It is the government's responsibility to make sure it works for people and that competition is strong.

President Trump regularly cheers for his plan is to sabotage the law, but the American people will not tolerate the Administration rooting for people to suffer in order to give them political gains.

Sample Letters to the Editor

There are three sample LTEs below based on the target list of members and their stance or lack of stance on the AHCA. Please use and tailor as needed.

AHCA NO Votes Stay No

I was very glad when Rep. XXX listened to the millions of people across the [district] and country who made their voices heard and rejected the Republican repeal bill, the so-called "American HealthCare Act." The bill would have raised premiums by 20 percent, took coverage away from 24 million people and punished older people with an unfair "age tax" and raised costs even more for people living in rural areas. All to pay for billions of dollars in tax giveaways to the wealthy and special interests.

But, Republicans haven't learned. Instead of slowing down and working in a bipartisan way to find solutions to our healthcare system, they want to make a bad bill worse. Now, they are talking about gutting protections for people with pre-existing conditions. 133 million Americans—or 51 percent of all non-elderly adults—have at least one pre-existing condition, whether cancer, diabetes, a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, or simply being a woman.

I haven't heard whether Rep. XXX supports or opposes these new changes Republican leaders are discussing. These decisions will impact every single one of his/her constituents and s/he owes it to us to let us know where s/he stands. Rep. XXX: please don't take my care and keep opposing this disastrous bill.

AHCA Undecided

Millions of Americans across the country, including right here in XXX, made their voices heard that they opposed the Republican health repeal bill, the so-called "American HealthCare Act." The bill would have raised premiums by 20 percent, took coverage away from 24 million people and punished older people with an unfair "age tax" and raised costs even more for people living in rural areas. All to pay for billions of dollars in tax giveaways to the wealthy and special interests.

Yet, despite this outcry, Rep. XXX stayed silent and didn't let us know where s/he stood on this bill.

Instead of slowing down and working in a bipartisan way to find solutions to our healthcare system, Republican leaders want to make a bad bill worse. They haven't learned. Now, they are talking about gutting protections for people with pre-existing conditions. 133 million Americans—or 51 percent of all non-elderly adults—have at least one pre-existing condition, whether cancer, diabetes, a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, or simply being a woman.

Rep. XXX - it's not too late. Don't take my healthcare, and come out against the American HealthCare Act.

AHCA Yes

Millions of Americans across the country, including right here in XXX, made their voices heard that they opposed the Republican health repeal bill, the so-called "American HealthCare Act." The bill would have raised premiums by 20 percent, took coverage away from 24 million people and punished older people with an unfair "age tax" and raised costs even more for people living in rural areas. All to pay for billions of dollars in tax giveaways to the wealthy and special interests.

Yet, despite this outcry, Rep. XXX said s/he was going to vote for it.

Now, Republican leaders are talking about gutting protections for people with pre-existing conditions. 133 million Americans—or 51 percent of all non-elderly adults—have at least one pre-existing condition, whether cancer, diabetes, a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, or simply being a woman. These changes would make a bad bill worse.

DIGITAL TOOLKIT: APRIL CONGRESSIONAL RECESS

Save My Care has developed the following social media campaigns and concepts to help organizations keep healthcare at the forefront of the minds of supporters and members of Congress alike.

#SaveMyCareBecause:We've seen incredible success on both Facebook and Twitter with posts that use real people to show the real impact of cutting healthcare. #SaveMyCareBecause is a social effort to allow people express why they want their healthcare to be protected. The post options below combine the request for storytelling with an ask to call Congress and express why the supporter wants to save healthcare, but the posts work as pure vehicles for soliciting or telling stories as well. The posts can also be used to spread important stats and facts about healthcare repeal and replacement efforts.

Twitter graphic and tweet copy:

Why is healthcare important to you? Call Congress & fill in the blank: #SaveMyCareBecause __. Your story matters.

What would the impact of Congress cutting healthcare be on you? Use #SaveMyCareBecause to share your story.

Do you and your family rely on your healthcare? Call 888-852-0653, and use #SaveMyCareBecause to tell your story.

Facebook graphic and copy:

Congress may be on recess, but the threat to our healthcare is still very much alive. Call your representative, and fill in the blank #SaveMyCareBecause ___. Tell him or her why your healthcare matters: 888-852-0653.

Are you at risk if Congress continues to threaten our healthcare? Share your story in the comments below, and share the post using #SaveMyCareBecause so others know the fight for healthcare is far from over.

Congressional accountability

We can also use the recess to hold members of Congress accountable for the positions they took on the AHCA, and make sure we don't lose ground on the debate once Congress is back in session. We've prepared two concepts to be used based on the targeted member's stance in March. The draft copy is meant to be personalized to specific members of Congress, but would work as general rallying cries as well.